Tapioca (Cassava)

Water

Rain falls about 6 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.

Needs about 910 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 640 mm it can use in a normal year, and 560 mm in a dry year.

Temperature

Grows best at 20–29 °C on average, and survives 10–35 °C.

Here, in its growing months (day / night):

• Jun 38 °C / 26 °C (outside its best range)
• Jul 34 °C / 26 °C (outside its best range)
• Aug 33 °C / 25 °C
• Sep 32 °C / 24 °C
• Oct 31 °C / 18 °C
• Nov 27 °C / 12 °C (outside its best range)
• Dec 22 °C / 8 °C (outside its best range)
• Jan 19 °C / 7 °C (outside its best range)
• Feb 23 °C / 10 °C (outside its best range)
• Mar 29 °C / 15 °C
• Apr 36 °C / 20 °C
• May 39 °C / 24 °C (outside its best range)
• Jun 38 °C / 26 °C (outside its best range)

Months in orange are outside its best range.

Nights in January can bring frost. When frost is forecast, water the field lightly in the evening.

Soil

Soil for Tapioca (Cassava): 8 out of 10 (good).

Not in the score: nitrogen and boron.

• The pH here suits it.
• Many fields here are short of potassium, which it needs a lot.
• Most fields here are short of organic carbon.
• Most fields here are short of manganese.

Likes pH 5.5–8.0.

Money

Yield: about 149 quintals an acre, the typical figure across India (no figures for your state).

On rain alone it gets about 70% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 70% of this yield.

Mandi price through the year (December 2025–November 2026): about ₹3,000 a quintal across India's mandis.

This week: about ₹3,500 a quintal, the middle of 70 mandis across India (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹1.2 lakh a year after typical costs.

Prices swing a lot from year to year, so income can be well above or below this range.

Prices are usually best in September.

Typical costs are about ₹2.4 lakh an acre: about half of what a usual harvest earns (2023–2025), as in farm cost surveys. They are spent whatever the harvest.